With the series tied down at 1-1 and both the teams in completely opposite frame of mind it looks like the Indian team has to perform out of their skin to deliver a good result.

(India takes on England in the 3rd Test match in India’s Tour of England at Southampton. Catch all the Live Score Updates and Live Cricket Action here.)

England 98/2 after 28 overs, Ian Bell* 38, Gary Ballance* 32

Both Ian Belland Gary Ballance look like they have carries their form from the previous game to this game and are playing some delightful shots. It seems like this is a completely different pitch from the one on which India batted as the Indian fast bowlers are looking rather ineffective so far. They have not been able to put the ball in the right places on a consistent basis and that itself has been the reason for the luxury of the English batsmen.

England 71/2 after 21 overs, Ian Bell* 21, Gary Ballance* 22

England are moving into a very strong position into this match as both their batsmen who are there in the middle arein excellent form and are coming on the back of 2 huge centuries in the lat game. Seems like the Indian bowlers will have to struggle for making a move and pick wickets in this innings. With less than 100 runs lead in their bag, its high time that India pick the wickets of Ian Bell and Gary Ballance and put pressure on the English team.

England 36/2 after 14 overs, Ian Bell 4*, Gary Ballance 9*

Bhuwaneshwar Kumar got the first breakthrough and Varun Aaron got the second wicket, Alistair Cook. After a shaky start by India, the Indian bowlers are making a good comeback with regular wickets and not too many runs getting scored in the overs to put the pressure on the English side.

India 152/8 after 46 overs. MS Dhoni 70*, Varun Aaron 0*

India lost another batsmen for a duck as India’s star performer this series, Bhuvaneshwar kumar also failed to trouble the scorers in this innings. It all depends on MS Dhoni to make whatever runs he can while the Tail-enders provide him with the support that they can. Looks like India will most likely get wrapped up before 200.

India 129/7 after 41 overs. MS Dhoni 49*, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar 0*

The pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Mahendra Singh Dhoni added 66 runs for the 7th wicket and look more comfortable at the pitch as the time is passing and the ball is getting older. But as has been the case with all the matches in this tour, just when the partnership was looking good to add some quick and important runs, Ravichandran Ashwin tried to play one shot too many and was dismissed for 40 after being caught at deep square leg.

India 107/6 after 35 overs. MS Dhoni 43*, Ravichandran Ashwin 25*

MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin are still there in the middle but their job is far from done. They have helped India make a score in excess of 100, which will give them some joy after the position they were in the first session.

India 81/6 after 30 overs. MS Dhoni 33*, Ravichandran Ashwin 10*

The situation just keeps getting tougher for the Indian team as they have lost yet another wicket just past lunch. James Anderson managed to dismiss his arch nemesis Ravindra Jadeja for a duck, the 4th of this Indian innings. It’s now all up to MS Dhoni and the tail enders to take the Indians to a respectable total. With just Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and R. Ashwin being the two batsmen who can hold up their ends for a while, it won’t be a surprise if India folds under 200 runs here.

India 63/5 after 25 overs. MS Dhoni 25*, Ravindra Jadeja 0*

Just when it looked like that the Indian batsmen have taken a hold of proceedings going into lunch, Chris Jordan struck in with another big strike as he picked up the Wicket of Ajinkya Rahane on the score of 24. India are now 63/5 at lunch and with just this pair being the recognized pair remaining in their side, the proceedings don’t at all look good for them as far as this test match is considered.

India 52/4 after 20 overs. Ajinkya Rahane 20*, MS Dhoni 24*

This pair of Indian batsmen have now managed to add nearly 50 runs on the board for the 5th wicket after the initial fall of wickets, but things still doesn’t look for the Indians as this is that last recognized batting pair for the Indian team and the English bowlers look in some terrific form here. There are still the occasional ooh and aah’s from the English fielders and the ball has been consistently beating the outside edge of both the batsmen.

India 24/4 after 13 overs. Ajinkya Rahane 7*, MS Dhoni 9*

After the flurry of wickets in the first half an hour of play. MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane have some how managed to survive the amazing display of swing bowling by the English pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the next half hour. India are still in deep trouble and even though the 2 batsmen in the center are trying their best to prevent the fall of wickets, they are not looking too confident while playing their shots.

India 11/4 after 7 overs. Ajinkya Rahane 3*, MS Dhoni 0*

The start has been disastrous for the India team in this 4th Test at Manchester as the English bowler have exploited the seaming conditions at Old Trafford and got rid of the India top order even before the viewers have settled in their seats. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have struck in pairs and has got rid of the Indian top order even before they added 10 runs on the board. Gautam Gambhir’s stay at the wicket in his return match was a short one, while the star of the series with the bat, Murali Vijay along with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara failed to even open their accounts. One of the worst starts for India in a test match in recent memory.

India managed to gain an upper hand against the English team when they won the second test against them at Lords but were brought down to reality when the English team fought back and delivered a huge defeat to the Indians in the 3rd test. It’s been a battle of equals so far in this series, but with the series being a long one and a couple of Indian Players already facing Injuries and Fatigue, it seems like tough times for India going into the 4th test.

The major concern for the Indian team in this match would be the form of their top order batsmen. With the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara failing to score big and struggling to convert starts into big ones, both the players have been major let downs for the Indian campaign in England this summer.

England on the other hand would be extremely happy with their performance at Southampton and the end result would be the one that would give them ample confidence going into the next game. Their top players are back in form and that is showing into their performance and body language as well.

With the series tied down at 1-1 and both the teams in completely opposite frame of mind it looks like the Indian team has to perform out of their skin to deliver a good result. This is going to be another exciting game of cricket.